38
Peter
The rest of the takedown is lightning fast. Within moments, we’re surrounded by three dozen of Esguerra’s men, and I tell stunned Ilya to drop his weapons as I do the same. Novak hit his head on the dumpster, and he looks dazed as I tug him to his feet while our captors cuff him and systematically pat him down.
While I’m handing Novak over to them, Ilya clambers to his feet beside me. His incredulous gaze swings from me to the men dragging Novak away and back to me. “Did you just—”
“Yes. I’ll explain everything in a moment. For now, call Yan and tell him we’re coming. Make sure he and Anton stand down—we don’t want anyone hurt.”
Ilya hesitates, clearly torn, then takes out his phone. I leave him to it and follow Novak to a black SUV.
The Serbian is coming out of his daze and
